The Robin’s Nest Family Restaurant
28640 M-40It’s time to get a Christmas tree! It’s time to get a Christmas tree! I get so excited every year because this was not something my family did growing up. My parents were artificial tree people so when J and I got our first tree nine years ago, it was a super big deal for me.
We’ve never really started a family tradition of picking one out and cutting it down. We always went to places that had pre-cut. The first year was Badger County and their place on Sprinkle Road in Portage. We then did a few years at Mott’s before they closed down. The last three years we’ve gone to Gull Meadow Farms but they stopped offering pre-cut trees this year so we had to find a new place.
The kids are old enough now I thought they would enjoy cutting one down. We decided to go to Wahmoff Farms just outside of Gobles.
We got up Saturday morning with the intentions of doing all the Christmas stuff. Getting a tree, decorating it, decorating the outside…..but first, breakfast.
I knew we were going to pass The Robin’s Nest on M-40 just north of the M-40 and M-43 intersection. There has been a restaurant in this location since the 1960’s when The Country Drive-In opened up. The building also played home to The Shagnasti and The Village Inn South before becoming The Robin’s Nest in the summer of 2013.
We were kind of surprised at how busy the restaurant once considering it’s location kind of away from town. There are parking lots on either side of the building with the main entrance being in front. We parked on the south side and went in through the front door to find a large dining room with a “Please Seat Yourself” sign.
When we walked in, all the tables in that dining room were full so we took a right to the second dining room where I noticed a large round table that was empty. It hadn’t quite been cleaned off yet but the hostess worked quickly to wipe it down and reset the place settings for us.
The feel of The Robin’s Nest is the down hominess you expect in a diner that serves breakfast all day. The space is brightly lit with lamps over almost every table, drop ceilings, and brightly painted walls on top of wood panel chair rails. The seating is a mixture of leather covered booths and traditional restaurant tables and chairs.
We were in that odd time between breakfast and lunch but everyone went with breakfast foods. I picked The Village Inn Eggs Benedict. This is a pretty typical Benedict with toasted English muffins, grilled ham, poached eggs, and a Hollandaise sauce. What makes this one a little different is thick slices of tomatoes between the ham and the muffin. The thick Hollandaise sauce covered pretty much everything on the plate including the crispy hash browns. The meal was very filling and pretty tasty. I love a big, hearty breakfast and I got that with this Benedict.
J ordered the Bacon and Cheddar Omelet. This is another simple breakfast staple with soft, fluffy eggs wrapped around melted cheddar cheese and a slice of crispy bacon. Her plate also included toast and hash browns to round out a classic breakfast.
The kids menu has a choice of either breakfast or lunch foods and both of our kids went with the breakfast.
B did the Mickey Mouse Pancake. This large pancake comes in the shape of everyone’s favorite Disney mouse with butter and maple syrup. We added on a slice of bacon for a little extra knowing he would try to steal his sister’s if we didn’t. Neither of our kids eat pancakes with syrup (mostly because we’ve never introduced it to them.) The pancake was really light and airy. B ate almost 2/3 which is pretty amazing for him. We passed the rest of it around the table because even with just a little butter, it was a really solid pancake.
L has been going pretty simple at breakfast lately. This time she just ordered eggs, meat, and toast. She got the eggs scrambled and the meat baconed. For the most part, she just ate bacon and toast, but she did try the scrambled eggs which is a win for us…even though she used to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast every day….now she has something against them, I guess.
Our bill for breakfast was just over $25. The Robin’s Nest is a pretty typical family dinner that serves up big breakfast plates. This is a tradition I can get behind. Breakfast at The Robin’s Nest and then cutting down a Christmas tree just up the road. I’m sure the kids would be on board.
SW Michigan Dining 